Gamebook Friday: NaNoWriMo and The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas

Today is something of a day of disappointments.

First of all, I failed to hit the NaNoWriMo target of 50,000 words this year, despite starting with 10,000 words already in the bank. I was about 2,200 away from the target, with two days to go, but then last Friday was taken up with prepping with Dragonmeet and Saturday was Dragonmeet itself, which meant I didn't have any time (or energy) left to make my goal.

On the upside, Dracula - Curse of the Vampire is about one fifth written, and I'm pleased with how it's going. However, it's going to have to go on the back-burner again until the New Year as I have other projects demanding my attention at the moment, and my own stuff always has to take a backseat to paid gigs.

The other reason for my disappointment is that 'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas isn't funding on Kickstarter. Current projections are that it will only reach around 70% of its funding goal. I had really hoped that people would get behind this but so far only about 60 people have, and I need around 200 people to back it to achieve funding. And even then, it will only be at the most basic level, which means there won't be very much more of Tony Hough's artwork, which in itself is disappointing.

Despite having run 12 Kickstarters, and had 9 of them fund, sometimes it feels like I'm starting from scratch when I launch a new one, especially when it's not just another gamebook or history of Fighting Fantasy. Clearly, the people who back my Kickstarters are first and foremost gamebook fans.

I think part of the problem is that sometimes I spread myself too thin and then I don't feel like I'm really accomplishing anything.

But today is another day, and next week is another week. I just need to refocus my attention.

Gamebook Friday: NaNoWriMo Progress

Today marks the halfway point for NaNoWriMo and my current work in progress is, appropriately, at around the 26,000 word mark. However, this year I've struggled to make the recommended word count each day, and the only reason I have that many words under my belt is because I wrote 10,000 of them back in June!

And there's another problem. I am already over 100 sections into Dracula - Curse of the Vampire, and I have only covered two of the forty scenes, or locations, on my plan for the adventure. Could this turn out to be my longest ACE Gamebook yet? We shall see...

Don't forget to join the ACE Gamebooks Facebook Group and sign up to my monthly Newsletter, to be kept up to date with developments regarding Dracula - Curse of the Vampire and my other gamebook projects.

NaNoWriMo 2019

I've attempted NaNoWriMo several times in the past - some times more successfully than others - but I'm giving it another go this year. The trouble is, I've been umm-ing and ahh-ing right up until today about what to write.

Maybe I should focus on something I'm re-writing. But then does that count? It's not National Novel Re-Writing Month!

How about my next ACE Gamebook? But I already have 10,000 words of that down.

How about a completely different ACE Gamebook - one that I haven't even announced yet?

My wife thinks I should write a children's book, while I'm almost tempted to write a horror novel without having any kind of plan*.

So, in the end, what have I gone with?

You'll just have to follow my progress on NaNoWriMo to find out...



* This is most definitely not how I normally write.

Gamebook Friday: NaNoWriMo progress and WordPlay London

Just a reminder that tomorrow, Saturday 19th November 2016, I shall be taking part in WordPlay London at the British Library.

You can find out more about this event by following this link to last weekend's post about it. The panel I'm going to be on is currently scheduled to take place from 4.15pm-5.00pm, and is called:

Worldbuilding with Words

Creators of interactive fiction, prose-forward games, Twitter microfictions and gamebooks discuss the challenges and joys of using words to evoke historical eras and weird universes.

In other news, you'll see that I've made significant progress with The Wicked Wizard of Oz since last week.

Gamebook Friday: On NaNoWriMo and the Dangers of Project Fatigue

As readers who have been following this blog for some time will know, I've dabbled with NaNoWriMo* in the past. (As has my friend Bill King.)

I contemplated taking part again this year, to work on a new project, but it got to the start of November and The Wicked Wizard of Oz was still unfinished and so I have decided to use NaNoWriMo as a motivational tool to help get me through to the end.

Why? You may well ask. Basically, two months into writing my latest gamebook I found myself in need a something to motivate me to keep going.

Why? Because half term happened, including a family holiday, and I took a break to write a couple of short stories, and I have a raft of new projects, snapping at my heels, that also need to be written. Also, because despite having reached section 500 I am still nowhere near the end of this particular adventure. The Wicked Wizard of Oz is going to be significantly longer than Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland (which means it will also be my longest gamebook to date) but then that's what happens when you allow the player to be one of five different characters all with their own abilities and unique backstories!

You will see that I actually started NaNoWriMo a week late, but I'm confident that I'll be able to catch up, and besides, I'm back on the horse now and galloping into Winkie Country as I type. Sort of.

I feel I should point out that the word count displayed above is what I've written during NaNoWriMo, not the total word count for the book so far!

In other news, someone has written a new and very pleasing 5-star review of Night of the Kraken, and fans of gamebooks may be interested to know that Joe Dever's Grey Star is back, courtesy of a new Kickstarter campaign.


* A.k.a. National Novel Writing Month.

Why I'm embracing NaNoWriMo again

As Chris Baty says on NaNoWriMo's very own blog, “Don’t be offended if you encounter some good-natured ribbing; the idea of writing a novel in a month deserves to be laughed at.”

I'm not sure I'm entirely down with with idea of NaNoWriMo these days. Writing a 50,000 novel (or should that be novella?) in a month is rather ridiculous, and, if achieved, should really just be the beginning of the process. How long will finishing it take? And what about rewriting? And how about submitting it to an agent or editor?

That said, this year I am embracing NaNoWriMo again. The reason? I'm juggling so many writing projects at the moment that I need something to help me order them all and make sure that daily progress is being made in all areas.

So, I shall be updating my NaNoWriMo project page on a daily basis, and I'll let you know how I get on at the end of the month.

Wish me luck!

How to write a book in three days

Three days? I thought NaNoWriMo was tough enough.

But that aside, fantasy and sci-fi author Michael Moorcock believes that you can a book 60,000 words long in three days. It takes some preparation but, according to Mr Moorcock, it is doable.

Would you be up for the challenge? Would I?

To find out what's required, follow this link. And if you do have a crack at it, let me know how you get on, will you?

NaNoWriMo Revisited

Thirty days ago* I posted that I had signed up to NaNoWriMo again this year. The intention was to clear the backlog of work I've had on my schedule of late. And did it work?

In a word? No.

The trouble is that as a jobbing writer, new jobs can come along at any time, often accompanied by a tight deadline**. As a result, I've not finished the jobs I was planning on finishing, but have completed several others.

And my conclusion? That NaNoWriMo just isn't for professionals. And will I do it again next year? Never say never.

My NaNoWriMo profile today.

* Is it really thirty days? Where did the time go?

** I've also been trying to get a Kickstarter off the ground, but more about that another day (I hope).

NaNoWriMo 2012

Two years ago I took part in NaNoWriMo (a.k.a. National Novel Writing Month) for the first time. I didn't post my completed novel (because it was a commissioned piece of work) but I made the arbitrary target of 50,000 words in a month.

This year I'm taking part again. At one point I thought I could start my next novel project in November, but instead I'm going to use this month to motivate me to clear the backlog of work I've got piling up (a novella, a short story, and a gamebook) so that December is clear for my new Sekrit Projekt.

Wish me luck, and if you're NaNoWriMo-ing yourself good luck to you, and why not drop me a line here?

A NaNoWriMo update

So, on November 1 I signed up to National Novel Writing Month (a.k.a. NaNoWriMo), with the intention of spurring myself on to meet a challenging deadline. But then for one reason or another I didn't actual start writing until November 8. And yet, as of today I've reached the magic 50,000 word target, a few days early. But what does this really mean?

It means very little, as far as I can tell. I may have reached 50,000 words plus, but I'm only one third of the way through my novel and of those 50,000 words, by the time I've re-written, edited and polished it, it will be nearer 30,000 words.

I realise that NaNoWriMo is great fun for a great number of people and probably highly motivating for others. Maybe some even end up with something of publishable worth at the end of the experience. But for a professional (and I use the term as loosely as possible) writer like myself, it's been more of a millstone around my neck and an pretty useless target-setter. I won't be bothering to do it again.

I'll keep updating my progress until the end of the month but don't expect me to plaster my blog with banners saying 'NaNoWriMo Winner' or anything.

So, it's time to get back to work. There's the next chapter of Anno Frankenstein to get written, and my Spring-Heeled Jack story to continue, as well as numerous proposals for other books which I'll have to write whether it's NaNoWriMo or not.

Until next time...

NaNoWriMo - a.k.a. National Novel Writing Month

It's November, which means it's National Novel Writing Month. I haven't taken part in this writing extravaganza before because I've always had some job or other on already. However, today I am starting to write my seventh Ulysses Quicksilver novel Anno Frankenstein.

NaNoWriMo sets a very arbitrary 50,000 words in 30 days, or 1,667 words per day. To meet my deadline and overall word count, I need to aim for 3,000 words a day, and polished, final, submittable-to-my-editor words at that.

So I guess enough chat, it's time to crack on if I'm going to make my deadline today before I have to meet the guys down the pub later for our Monday night league pub quiz.

Until next time - wish me luck!

BTW - if you're planning to write your own magnum opus this month, you should check out this and this first. And good luck!